Live Report: Radiohead Triumph In Dublin

You really can’t beat the sense of expectation that comes with a gig by one of rock’s greatest ever acts. There is the unmistakable feel of an event surrounding this show: from the last minute ticket-pleas on social media; to the lengthy, raucous queues; to the obligatory controversy (a small group outside protest Radiohead’s highly contentious decision to play Israel on this tour).

Not that you’d know any of this from the band themselves, of course. As ever, they remain rock stars in the most anti-rock star way imaginable, shuffling onstage to the minimum of fanfare. Bravely, they commence the show with a brace of low-key numbers from last year’s A Moon Shaped Pool; the ethereal ballad ‘Daydreaming’ and the folky ‘Desert Island Disk’. Next up is ‘Ful Stop’, which starts out as a moody jam, before erupting into a full-on electro blitzkrieg.

The first intimation that we’re in for something truly special, however, arrives with the opening riff of ‘Airbag’, from OK Computer, currently celebrating its 20th anniversary. “In an interstellar burst/I am back to save the universe” howls Thom Yorke, while behind him, Phil Selway acts as a one-mean beat sampler, his thumping rhythms propelling the song forward.

Impressive as it is, Radiohead essentially spend the first portion of the set shadow-boxing – and now it’s time to deliver a knock-out punch. Jonny Greenwood’s customary radio channel-surfing is the cue for his brother Colin to commence the iconic, fuzzed-up bass riff of ‘The National Anthem’. It remains an absolutely phenomenal piece of music, an avant-jazz freak-out with a dystopian undertone appropriate for the times.

They follow it up with a ferocious ‘My Iron Lung’ and a tender ‘All I Need’ – the latter prompting the first of several mass singalongs – making for a dizzyingly eclectic triptych that precious few acts can compete with. From there until the end, Radiohead have the crowd in the palm of their hand, with the atmospheric lighting and trippy visuals nicely complementing the wide-ranging journey through their stunning canon.

Further highlights include ‘Bloom’ and ‘Idioteque’, which both mutate into epic rave-ups, before they bring the main part of the set to a conclusion with an eerie ‘2+2=5’. After kicking off the first encore with a majestic ‘No Surprises’ – the line “Bring down the government/They don’t speak for us” getting a huge cheer – Yorke mentions that the expanded reissue of OK Computer is due in a few days, and describes ‘I Promise’ as “one of the songs that didn’t make the grade”. It still sounds damn impressive though, built as it as around surging, anthemic guitar rhythms.

Elsewhere, the singalong during the “Rain down on me” section in ‘Paranoid Android’ provides one of 2017’s most magical live moments, while ‘Everything In Its Right Place’ is an irresistible collage of electro grooves.

Returning to a sustained standing ovation for the second encore, Radiohead sign off with the skittering rhythmic work-out of ‘Lotus Flower’, a magisterial ‘Fake Plastic Trees’, and the final, haunting ‘How To Disappear Completely’, with its famous line about floating “down the Liffey”.
With a Glastonbury headliner on the way this weekend, this gig was Radiohead flexing their muscles and showing all the young pretenders out there what a truly legendary act look and sound like. Simply awesome stuff.